Joe's Halloween Birthday Misadventures
by BettyHT
Summary: Misunderstandings, jealousy, and impetuous temper get Joe in trouble, and then he has to get himself out of it.


**Joe's Halloween Birthday Misadventures**

"Little Joe loves his birthdays. And he loves Halloween. I think we ought to combine the two, and give our younger brother a day he will never forget."

"Adam, that's all well and good, but how can we ever come up with something more memorable than all the pranks and shenanigans that little rascal can cook up for Halloween?"

"Well, I have a few ideas for that." And Adam took to slicking his hair back more than ever to cover the fact that it was much longer than usual. The cold weather helped because he could wear clothing with collars that covered the back of his neck where he couldn't hide the long hair. Hoss started collecting a variety of items too using his woodsman knowledge to make quite a collection. Joe knew they were up to something and welcomed it. He guessed they were going to play some great pranks on him, so he readied quite a few surprises for them.

But then one day in town to take care of a number of errands, Joe saw Adam going into Mary Ellen's house, and he didn't come out for over an hour. Joe knew because he waited. Joe had been seeing Mary Ellen even though she was a few years older than he was. She had dated Adam briefly a few years earlier. As Adam walked out, he was buttoning up his shirt. Joe's face turned red, and he was angry enough to confront Adam right there but decided to serve this revenge up cold. He began plotting seriously.

Unfortunately, Joe also happened to be drinking later as he was plotting, and ended up in the jail. Whiskey and a temper never went together well for Joe. When Adam and Hoss came looking for him, Sam told them that Roy had Joe over in the jail waiting for them. He also handed Adam a bill. Adam's eyebrows rose when he saw it, but he dug into his wallet and pulled out enough money to pay for the damages. It was approaching Joe's birthday so Adam held his usually sharp tongue and Hoss managed not to look too disappointed at the disheveled young man they bailed out of jail. Adam paid the fine so Joe would not have to come back into town the next day to pay it, and their father wouldn't have to know about it.

When the three brothers arrived at home, Hoss advised Joe to stay in the stable until he and Adam could distract their father, and then he could sneak up to his room to clean up. If that didn't work, Hoss would toss some clean clothes out of his upstairs window and he could change in the washroom. Adam reminded him to stay put and Joe snarled at him.

"Wonder what's got into him?"

"I don't know, Hoss, but he's usually a bit surly after he gets into trouble. I'll tell Pa that I'll take those contracts over to Carson for him. That way he can take it easy tomorrow. The way he's moving, he's got some sore ribs. I can pick up the fireworks we ordered while I'm in Carson too."

"None too soon either. We only have two days left before the big party. He's gonna be so surprised. No pranks on him this year, and a big party instead. Even Pa is looking forward to this one."

"I just hope Mary Ellen finishes my costume. She said she would bring it with her to the party."

Later that evening, Joe was incensed that Ben was having Adam take the contracts to Carson. He had been looking forward to that trip.

"Now, Joe, it's just delivering some contracts. Adam says he has an errand to run in town and it would save you a trip if he does both things tomorrow."

Ben closed the discussion by saying he was tired and heading to bed. Adam sat in his chair reading, and Joe wanted to confront him but decided to wait a day to see if he could do it without losing his temper entirely. He stomped up the stairs. That plan didn't work out well either. By the time he returned from working the next day, his father was waiting for him with that look that said he had heard about the trouble in town. Now the last Joe had seen of his father that day had been after breakfast when Adam was talking with him as Joe and Hoss headed out to work. Adam must have told his father about his little ruckus in town.

Joe knew what he was going to get. When he was younger, misbehavior resulted in a tanning, a lecture, and extra chores. The worst was the lecture, and now that he was older, that was all he got. He hated those lectures. They made him feel like a small boy again. And in his mind, it was all Adam's fault anyway. If he hadn't gone to see Mary Ellen, then Joe wouldn't have been drinking so much. If he hadn't been drinking, there wouldn't have been that fight with that miner, and he wouldn't have had to go to jail. He listened as his father talked but he didn't hear anything. He nodded appropriately and apologized profusely, and as soon as his father went into the house, he kicked just about everything in the stable until his toe hurt. He figured that was Adam's fault too, only Adam didn't come home that night so there was nothing he could do about it.

It was late the next afternoon before Adam pulled into the yard. He asked Hoss to come help him with something so Joe remained on the settee. He would wait until they were done with whatever they were doing, and then he planned to confront Adam. He waited at least fifteen minutes and then could wait no longer. His father had gone upstairs, and Joe headed outside. Hoss was nowhere in sight, but Adam was standing by the empty wagon looking over some papers. Joe walked up and grabbed him by the shoulder spinning him around and then sucker punched him in the face. As Adam straightened up from that blow, Joe hit him again and laid him out on the ground. Adam put a hand to his face and came away with blood as his nose was already bleeding profusely.

"What the hell is wrong with you? What was that for?"

"You know damn well what that's for. You went to see Mary Ellen. I saw you leaving her house and buttoning up your shirt. Then you told Pa about the fight I had and getting locked up by Roy. You were gone last night and it wasn't hard to figure who you were with!" Joe stood over Adam with his fists clenched. He hadn't heard the carriage enter the yard, nor had he seen his father and Hoss come out to stand directly behind him.

Pushing past Joe, Ben went to Adam to help him up. That's when Joe saw Mary Ellen's carriage and a very angry Mary Ellen. She climbed down from the carriage and went to help Adam as well.

"Joe, you jest better cool yourself down. You got a lot of things wrong, and you best apologize to Adam right now."

"Hoss, I ain't apologizing to him after everything he did."

"That's jest it, little brother. He didn't do none of them things you said."

"What? Of course he did!"

"Mary Ellen, you want to tell my little brother here what Adam was doing at your house?"

"I was sewing up a shirt for him so he could be in costume as a wolf man. I have a costume for you too. Adam thought you might like the costume of a riverboat gambler. Adam brought me a pair of your pants and a shirt so I could get the size right."

About that time, Joe noticed that his father was dressed as a minister, and Hoss had on a cloak decorated with pine cones and other treasures of the forest. Hoss saw him looking and explained. "I'm the spirit of the forest. We had a big surprise costume party set up for your birthday. Adam was delayed overnight in Carson waiting for the fireworks we ordered."

"Well who told Pa about the ruckus in town yesterday?"

"Pa went into town to borrow a collar from Reverend Wilkes. Roy saw him and asked how you were, and then Roy and Pa talked about what happened. Adam covered for you just like he done all them other times."

Joe saw his father's eyebrow rise at that statement from Hoss and knew he was going to be spending a lot more time on the ranch until his father trusted him to go to town again. Ben and Mary Ellen had helped Adam up and were going into the house where Hop Sing was ready to work on stopping the bleeding from his nose. His left eye was swelling as well. He would not be partying much on this night. When Joe entered the house, the look he got from Mary Ellen told him that they would probably no longer be seeing each other either. He looked at all of them and could only say one thing.

"I'm a fool. I am so sorry."

"Just go greet your guests. There should be a lot of people here soon, and they're bringing jack-o-lanterns so somebody has to organize where they go." Adam's voice was a little muffled by the cold compress Hop Sing was holding to his face.

Hoss put an arm around Joe's shoulders and guided him outside. "Now the least you can do for Adam is to make sure these people he invited have a good time. We'll all deal with the other things later."

The party went well and the guests had a wonderful time in their costumes. Many thanked Joe for the creative theme and said how much they had enjoyed being able to design an outfit to wear. As the band played and people danced, laughed, and ate wonderful food, Joe felt worse and worse. He finally walked inside to see Adam for he couldn't let this situation fester any longer no matter how embarrassed he was about his actions. He walked up the stairs, but when he got to Adam's room, it was empty. Hop Sing was putting clean linens on the bed.

"Mister Adam nose bleed again. It stop now, and he go out to garden to sit. You go take care of hurt he has."

Joe knew that Hop Sing did not mean the bloody nose or the black eye. He knew he had hurt his brother much more than that by his accusations and lack of trust. When he got to the garden, he saw Adam sitting and talking with Mary Ellen. He almost backed away at that point but forged ahead knowing he had to face up to what he had done. There was nothing romantic in the way the two were on the bench anyway so he thought he was not interrupting anything important.

"Well, I see you won't be alone. I'll head back to the party. I promised a few dances to Hoss, and I need to make good on that promise." Mary Ellen walked back to the party with hardly a glance for Little Joe.

"Adam, I am so sorry."

"Joe you said that earlier, and I accepted. So what do you want to talk about now?"

Hanging his head as he sat next to his brother, Joe knew what he wanted to say but not how to say it.

"I know what I did could have looked suspicious, but, Joe, what I don't understand was why you didn't trust me at all. What you accused me of doing was very dastardly, and I'm hurt that you would think that way about me."

"I know, Adam, and I'm very sorry about that too. I've been wondering myself why I always get so mad at you. I guess it's because I want what you have."

Adam just looked at him with that look that said you had better finish telling me what you want to say.

"You're half Pa's age, and yet you get a lot of respect from the men around here. Bankers and businessmen greet you as an equal. Me they call Little Joe like I haven't grown up at all. You get to take all those trips to San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, and all those places that I'd like to go." At Adam's skeptical look, Joe had to explain more. "Oh, I know when you've invited me along, I've said I didn't want to go, but it's just that I don't want to go along as the little brother. I want to do those things myself."

"Joe, I went with Pa as his son on those trips when I was younger. I sat and learned. That's what I wanted to do with you so you could do those trips on your own. You're not me just like I'm not Pa. We all have to do it our own way. You would learn how I do it and then figure out how you would do it your way. But no one knows how to do negotiations without seeing some others in action first."

"Adam, I want to go with you on your next trip. I want you to teach me everything you know about negotiating. I want you to introduce me to all the men who do business with the ranch. I want to sit in on those meetings in the Cattlemen's Association and with the banks and with our lawyer."

"I can do that. You're going to find those meetings boring unless you use them to study the people there."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's just like in poker, Joe. People have tells. You watch for them and it makes you a lot better at bargaining with them."

"So it can be as much fun as poker?"

"More perhaps because there is no chance involved. It's all how you manage the people you're working with to get a deal. You let them 'win' on points that aren't important to you and use those as bargaining chips to get the things you actually want. Hoss can't do it because every time they offer him a big steak, beer, and a cigar, he agrees to almost anything. He likes to come with me and get the benefits without the work. I don't mind though because as they're plying him with bribes, it gives me more time to observe the people and work out my strategy."

"Hey I can do that. And if I win, it'll be a lot more than I can win at poker. Hey, this is gonna be great. I bet I get to be one of the best negotiators there ever was."

Adam had to chuckle. Joe's confidence was never down for long.

Now Mary Ellen and I are friends. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, I mean, well she won't want to see me at all after this anyway."

"On the contrary, we were just talking about you. We agreed that you are impetuous and hot tempered."

"Oh, and that's supposed to mean I have a chance with her?"

With a deep sigh, Adam continued. "No, it means those are things you could try to curb a bit at least. We did agree too that you have a zest for life that is inspiring, a sense of fun that we both find we enjoy a great deal, and a talent with horses that is amazing. Now I've smoothed the way if you want to go try to get back in her good graces. Remember too that you accused her of being unfaithful so you need to take care of that."

Joe felt very good right about then. "Do you want to come to the party? We already told people you got hurt. You could at least say howdy and have something to eat and drink."

"No, I think I'll stay right here. It's a good spot to watch the fireworks if Hoss put them where we had decided."

"Ah, Adam, would it be all right if I asked Mary Ellen, and the two of us came back here to watch them with you?"

"I'd like that, Joe. And Joe, if you ever decide to sucker punch me again, don't. I'll be ready next time, and you won't like the result."

"Gotcha, older brother, but now I got a lady to apologize to again, and see if she won't give me a few dances before this party is done."

Adam shook his head. There wasn't much that could keep that wild rambunctious spirit down for very long. He thought a few well-placed grimaces at breakfast might get him out of chores for one day at least. The kid did have a soft and gentle heart, and a resiliency that was to be admired.

When it was time for the fireworks, Joe was back as promised with Mary Ellen. Ben came too and all four sat and watched the fireworks go off. Joe kept jumping up to point at the especially gorgeous ones and the others laughed with his enthusiasm. When the fireworks ended, Adam suggested that Joe drive Mary Ellen back to town and tie Cochise on the back of the carriage. Ben agreed that was a good idea. Joe didn't need any convincing but did think he ought to at least offer to help.

"Don't I have to stay and help clean up?"

"No, son, not on your birthday. Now tomorrow it will be different."

Joe nodded and smiled. Life was good. He took Mary Ellen's hand and walked to the front of the house. Adam smirked when he saw Joe lean down to kiss Mary Ellen, and she moved into the young man's arms for an extended kiss. There weren't many young women who would ever be able to resist his youngest brother's considerable charm.


End file.
